


shoot for the moon

by aetherae



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: F/M, POV Outsider, Post-Canon, Weddings, it's super self-indulgent but when is it not when it comes to me and fic, this is probably borderline crack fic but w/e
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-05 18:14:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15176483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aetherae/pseuds/aetherae
Summary: Estelle and Yuri are getting married. Naturally, Flynn is stressed.





	shoot for the moon

**Author's Note:**

> this fic has been a wip for some odd five years or so, why am i the worst at writing things that i want seen tbh. also this is my first time writing an extended outsider pov fic i think and honestly idk why i don't more often, it's so much fun. ALL THAT SAID, i like flynn a lot but hate how he's implemented in the ps3 ver so this also functions as my take on his character development post xbox ver i guess. of course for the most part, this fic is just my ideal yuri/estelle wedding. as was warned in the tags, this is probably borderline crack fic. it was fun to write though so frankly i don't care LMAO.

“Flynn, could I ask a favor of you?”

Now, Flynn normally has no problems with granting Estelle a request. In fact, he’s often happy to do just about anything for her. He wasn’t able to help her nearly as much as he wanted to back when he was only a knight trainee, and now that he’s Commandant, there’s little reason not to. With Estelle clasping her hands in front of her and looking so determined, it seems like all the more reason to help her with whatever it is she’s going to ask.

That Yuri stands behind her, smiling in the way he always did when he knew that he was about to cause him trouble, is what makes Flynn pause.

“… Of course. What is it, Lady Estellise?”

She takes both his hands, gripping them tightly in her own, and it would be heartwarming if not for the fact that he can see Yuri _clearly_ holding back snickering.

“I know this is going to sound like a lot, and I know that you’re already very busy, so I completely understand it if you can’t, but…” she rambles, smile nervous and cheeks just the tiniest bit flushed. Honestly, who in their right mind could ever say no to her? He simply squeezes her hands gently, smile calm and patient, and that gives her the courage to continue. “I was wondering if you could officiate the wedding ceremony for Yuri and I?”

Behind her, Yuri _howls_ with laughter. Estelle’s smile turns from nervous to downright apologetic.

Oh. Well.

That explains everything.

 

● 

It starts like this:

Ten months before Estelle asks him anything, Flynn wakes up from his literal mountain of paperwork thanks to the incessant pounding on his office door. As Commandant, he would of course never admit to, let’s say, falling asleep while reading report after report, the lack of any real stimuli lulling him to sleep. But, well. His bleary-eyed stare as he opens the door to a councilman certainly isn’t because of disdain.

It’s only partly because of it.

_Mostly_ because of it.

The longer he works with the Council, the more he understands just why Estelle spent most of her time dodging them way back when.

“Master Baudin,” he greets, expression plastered into what Witcher calls his ‘dealing with the Council’ face, “how can I help you today?”

The old man stomps his way into Flynn’s office uninvited, but he knows better than to point out respect for privacy with the Council at this point. “It’s a disaster I tell you, a complete disaster! In all my years I’ve never seen such a, such a—such an _outrageous_ display of insolence! We should have him arrested on the spot, put on trial even, locked away before—”

“ _Master Baudin_ ,” he interrupts, just barely resisting the urge to rub at his temple. A nap really would be necessary at this rate. “No matter how much of a ‘disaster’ this is, I can’t act without knowing what it is first.”

“Ahem, right, that is to say—that Lower Quarter _scum_ Yuri Lowell proposed to Lady Estellise just last night! _Proposed_!”

“Oh.” The councilman looks at him expectantly, but Flynn can only say, “Finally.”

Which of course is the wrong thing to say as Master Baudin proceeds to launch into a tirade about the apparent disrespect of such an action, the disregard for propriety, the horror of throwing out decades upon decades of tradition—or something like that. Frankly, Flynn stops listening when he hears the word “scum” again. Despite the fact that Yuri helped save the world, despite the fact that Ioder already granted him a royal pardon for the murders he committed, and despite the fact that by insulting the Lower Quarter, the Council automatically insulted the very face of their knights now, none of them ever seemed to wrap their heads around the fact that Yuri Lowell was _not_ Lower Quarter scum, nor any kind of scum. Hell, he technically wasn’t even a citizen of the Empire anymore. Karol might be the official leader of Brave Vesperia, but there isn’t a soul in the world who doesn’t know what Yuri represents.

Of course, that’s all beside the point. It’s a little disappointing that he couldn’t hear the news from them themselves, but he’s sure they’ll tell him soon enough.

“I’d like to remind you that there’s no law forbidding Yuri from proposing to the princess.” Honestly, if they’re getting this much trouble from the government just for a proposal, it’s a wonder they haven’t eloped yet.

Baudin sputters, his tall ornate hat nearly falling over from his jerky movements. “She is _nobility_! _Royalty_ , even! And he’s nothing but—”

“Before you embarrass yourself even further by insulting a trusted friend of the royal family _and_ Commandant of the knights,” Flynn grumbles as he rubs at his temple. The councilman looks more indignant than embarrassed, but at least he stops talking. “I’d ask that you take a moment and listen to yourself. Lady Estellise may be princess of the Empire still, but it’s Emperor Ioder who sits on the throne. She has no duties to the throne, no social standing that requires a political marriage, and no family that demands she continue the Sidos lineage. She’s free to serve the Empire however she sees fit now.”

And she’s never seemed happier for it, he thinks with a smile. He’s not sure the Council is dumb enough to still want to try and use Estelle as a figurehead pawn, or if they’re all simply petty enough to have this much of a grudge against Yuri. It could be both.

“—Even so, the way he went about the whole ordeal was most definitely illegal! There’s no two ways about it!”

“… And how was that?” Because that, unfortunately, is definitely something Flynn can believe.

But that’s how Flynn finds out that Yuri Lowell, full time guild member but even fuller time _troublemaker_ , snuck into the castle to pay Estelle a visit while she was in Zaphias, only for one of the newer knights to find him jumping off from the windowsill of Estelle’s room and duly reported him for illegal trespassing. (Naturally, said knight couldn’t actually arrest him since for one, Estelle was there to explain the situation, but more importantly, this was _Yuri_ they were talking about.) The Council threw a fit over it, going over and over how it was breaking the law for a mere commoner to be walking through the castle unaccompanied. When Yuri pointed out that technically he wasn’t walking _through_ the castle, and technically _was_ being accompanied by Estelle, they only yelled louder.

Flynn’s sure Yuri did that on purpose, but that’s beside the point.

According to Baudin, Yuri then asked who actually _was_ allowed to walk through the castle unaccompanied, and the councilman gave the typical response. Knights stationed there, staff like the maids and cooks, upper nobility including the Council, and of course the royal family.

So after looking to Estelle who only giggled softly behind her hand, Yuri looked back at Baudin with an easy smile and careless shrug and said:

“So if I marry the princess, there won’t be any problem with me walking around here, right?”

And Flynn can’t help it.

He _laughs_.

● 

The moment he hears it though, he knows the proposal must have already happened at that point. Yuri might be reckless, but he isn’t careless, and if Yuri was careless enough with Estelle’s feelings to propose like that, Flynn would beat him senseless himself.

But that isn’t the case, and he gets his confirmation later that same day from both parties—albeit in very different ways.

Yuri laughs about everything involving the Council, even gives a play-by-play of all their reactions to him—which try as Flynn might, he enjoys hearing way too much—but when he asks about how Yuri actually proposed _to_ Estelle, Yuri clams up. He keeps the details light and breezy, says it’s a personal thing and geez, can’t a guy get a little privacy? And Flynn would understand that for sure, no further questions, but they’ve been each others’ best friends for almost all their lives, and he _knows_ what it means when Yuri clams up like this, when he tries to play it off even as the tips of his ears turn red.

Something about the proposal was _embarrassing_ for him, and Flynn just can’t pass that up.

He and Estelle might not be each others’ best friends, but he’s her _first_ friend, and that counts for something. When he congratulates her on the news, the first thing she says is thank you followed quickly by an apology for the trouble she’s sure the Council is giving him over it. Her cheeks are flushed, eyes practically permanently crinkled in the corners from her smile. Flynn takes back what he thought earlier— _now_ he’s never seen Estelle happier.

“So,” he starts off, beer mug in hand as Raven keeps shouting at the barkeep to make sure Karol gets nothing alcoholic. Elsewhere, he’s pretty sure some drunken knights are trying to challenge Judith to an arm wrestling competition. The members of Brave Vesperia don’t visit Zaphias too frequently, but with the increased trade between the Empire and the guilds, rowdy bar nights with intoxicated knights and boisterous guild members are more the norm than not now. Estelle doesn’t even blink at all the ongoing scenes. “How did he propose? Yuri won’t tell me anything, but you know how he is.”

Her reply is so perfectly candid, he nearly drops his mug in sheer surprise. “Oh, that’s because he didn’t propose. I did.”

Instead, he almost sprays his drink all over the counter. _Almost_. He doesn’t because, again, the moment he hears it, he immediately understands that _of course_ Estelle was the one to propose. Given that Yuri never managed to work up the courage to tell her how he felt before Estelle did herself, Flynn really can’t be surprised.

And that certainly explains Yuri’s evasiveness.

“You know, I should’ve expected that.” He shakes his head and sighs, but the picture of their proposal comes together clearer now. “You didn’t really mean to propose right then, did you?”

“Not really, but as we were catching up, the topic sort of just came up on its own. I think he’s a little disappointed though,” she says with a giggle, and in the distance unbeknownst to either of them, Yuri sighs and slumps into his arms while Rita just shakes her head impatiently. “He said it’s not fair that I’m always beating him to the punch on things like these.”

He laughs. “Well, he only has himself to blame, doesn’t he?”

“That’s what I said! But I think it’s making him competitive. We’ll see what happens for the next big milestone.”

Flynn doesn’t know what the next “big milestone” would even be after this—Honeymoon decisions? An anniversary date?—but when he turns back around to look at Yuri, Judith sits in front of him and Raven has an arm slung around his shoulders, nodding sagely along to whatever Judith’s saying, which sounds a little something like, “So if you _really_ want to surprise her…”

They’re not even through with the wedding yet, and he’s already sure that whatever future they have in store, it’ll be even crazier to see than when they saved the world.

● 

Over the next few months, Flynn asks Ioder if it’s possible to fire the Council more times than he can count. Ioder informs him that unfortunately, with the way their government currently functions, it’s not possible to actually fire someone from the Council without effectively exiling them from the Empire itself.

Sooner or later, Flynn’s pretty sure Estelle’s going to rewrite all of the Empire’s governmental foundations so that this kind of thing isn’t a problem anymore, but that’s a problem for the future. She’ll have his full support when she does. He thinks she’ll have Ioder’s, too.

Right now has more than its own fair share of problems of course, and that _still_ includes Estelle’s current engagement to Yuri and their upcoming wedding. As far as Flynn knows, the two of them have yet to set a date for it. He’s not sure if that’s because of the logistical problems of getting all the people invited to it here on one day, if it’s because neither of them are actually in any real rush to get married, or if it’s because the Council is still arguing that the wedding just can’t happen. He bets on a combination of all three, although Estelle is a master planner once she decides to tackle a problem, so he knows getting the guests here won’t be an issue for much longer anyways.

But today has another meeting with the Council, and the old geezers spend more time railing on the scandal of a marriage between a princess and a non-citizen guild member for so long he feels his eyes glazing over. He _sees_ Estelle’s eyes glazing over. Never mind the new trade deals they have to work out, never mind the sudden problems with shipping supplies to Aurnion, never mind that Capua Torim’s mana-based barrier gave out just the other day and they still have no replacement. The Council, the same as ever, wants nothing to do with solving real problems when they can complain about propriety instead.

Flynn’s never seen Ioder angry, but that’s when the emperor’s perpetual mild-mannered smile _drops_ , and he wonders how cold it is in the hell that’s waiting for the Council.

“I, Ioder Argylos Heurassein, hereby declare by imperial decree that my cousin Lady Estellise Sidos Heurassein _will_ marry Brave Vesperia member Yuri Lowell. This matter is henceforth never to be spoken of during government discussion as it is not, and never has been, a matter of the government.” He looks over to the stenographer sitting in a corner of the room, their quill feather-down in a pot of ink as they look at the emperor slack-jawed. “Did you get all that?”

The Council looks terrified. Flynn actually gulps. Beside him, Estelle looks so _proud_ he expects her to high-five Ioder after the meeting.

She does, incidentally, and Flynn high-fives both of them.

But that, he thinks, is that. True to Ioder’s order, no one dares to bring up Estelle’s engagement within the walls of their meeting room ever again. Oh, he can tell that the Council certainly _wants_ to, but no one actually wants to find out what happens when you piss off the emperor, an emperor who isn’t just a figurehead and has the backing of not only the knights behind him, but all of Brave Vesperia too if Estelle wants to jump in.

While meetings with them never go smoothly, the next several months are blissfully, beautifully free of any marriage discussions. Estelle and Yuri set a date for next year in the height of spring, and things progress naturally from there. Yuri might not be the de facto leader of Brave Vesperia, but as far as Karol’s concerned, him being a founding member of one of Dahngrest’s fastest rising guilds means that marriage with not just nobility but _royalty_ of the Empire was a Big Deal. As in ‘invite half the guild leaders and then some to the wedding’ Big Deal. Flynn thought that playing diplomat and inviting people to an event was the last thing Yuri would want to do, but according to Judith he takes the whole thing in stride. It’s slow going as the guild still has plenty of jobs to work on in the meantime, but in between those and when he’s at their headquarters managing new recruits, he spends his free time hitting up every guild between Altosk and the Photography Guild. They even make a special trip out to Nordopolica so they can invite Palestralle.

Privately, he thinks that Yuri just wants to make the wedding as chaotic as possible. With Estelle formally inviting ever member of nobility, not just in Zaphias but the entire Empire, there’s no way it could be anything but.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to invite all these people?”

“I don’t really have a choice,” Estelle mumbles, utterly concentrated on writing out another invitation. Beside her, Rita seals one up with Estelle’s wax seal as in her words, she doesn’t ‘have the patience to write all fancy-schmancy for some nobility-approved invitation.’ Half of her seals end up off-center as she simultaneously works on her screen for another mana formula, but he doesn’t think it’s worth mentioning. “As it’s a royal wedding, I’m obligated to invite every member of nobility so that the ceremony has official, approved witnesses.”

He raises an eyebrow. “And the other guests and people partaking in the ceremony aren’t witness enough?”

“Just think of it as another protocol I need to write out,” Estelle says breezily, still concentrated on her cursive as if dismantling a government is something she does on the side for a hobby.

Rita snorts, and he can’t stop his loud laughter either. “I’m looking forward to the new body of government you’ll write.”

Estelle beams up at him from her seat, and he smiles back. Unfortunately though, he only dropped by in order to pick up the finished invitations and have them sent out for her before his next meeting. Rita’s finished stacks sit next to her, and he picks them up while idly looking at the names. Novak, Saar, Apeiron, Dubois, Beridze… They’re names he’s only familiar with in passing, most of them in Zaphias but a good chunk of them outside of it, too. After the dust settled around Duke and the Adephagos, being promoted to Commandant suddenly meant having to take condensed lessons regarding the Empire’s entire history and nobility. Every social gathering in the castle now leaves him tense as he tries to attach names to all the faces who greet him. In contrast, Estelle manages to maneuver through greeting them so perfectly every time, he envies her.

Set aside from all the stacks though is an envelope in surprisingly plain handwriting that simply reads _Hanks_. He blinks.

“Hanks? As in from the Lower Quarter?”

“Oh, that’s right!” Estelle puts down her quill to reach across and take the envelope. “You don’t have to take this one for delivery, Flynn. I’m going to deliver it to him myself so I can invite everyone.”

It shouldn’t surprise him, really. Estelle’s natural kindness aside, she did spend several months working with Hanks to help rebuild the Lower Quarter. Even after everything with Duke, all of Zaphias still needed to recover from the damage done by Alexei. The Lower Quarter had it the worst, and the princess wasted no time in devoting her time and resources to rebuilding it from the ground up.

So it shouldn’t surprise him, and it doesn’t, but that doesn’t stop the warmth that blooms in his chest regardless.

“He’ll be honored to come, I’m sure. But _everyone_ from the Lower Quarter? Are you sure about that?” Because as much as he’d love to see everyone there celebrating, well. For a wedding already filled with both nobles _and_ guild members, he can only imagine the fit the Council will throw.

Which, given Estelle’s playful smile, seems to be the point.

“The Council’s given me so much trouble over my wedding, I just felt like it’d be fair to give some back.” She shrugs easily, but when she looks back at the envelope, her eyes soften. “Besides, seeing them there would mean more to me than seeing any of the nobles.”

Rita hardly even looks up from her screen as she stamps another letter shut, but she says with a grin, “And giving those old farts a little hell is just a bonus, right?”

“Exactly!”

“Honestly,” Flynn half-heartedly grumbles, not even trying to hide the smile on his face, “you and Yuri should’ve just eloped.”

“That’s what I said! We wouldn’t be stuck here doing all these stupid invitations for one, not to mention _any_ of the mess from the Council,” Rita sighs, shaking her head.

Estelle simply smiles again, and as Flynn leaves with the finished invitations, he can’t help but think there was something a little familiar in her eyes. Almost strangely so.

Like something he’d see in Yuri’s eyes, right before he raised hell just for fun.

Even without having to hear from the Council, Flynn thinks this wedding might just be the death of him.

 ●

With only a week left until the actual wedding, Flynn thinks it’s a miracle that things have progressed with little to no trouble at this point. The castle’s well underway for preparing a royal wedding, most if not all of the invited guests have made their way to Zaphias already, and the Council still can’t say anything about what’s going on during meetings. Naturally, Flynn expects something during the wedding itself to blow up as disastrously as possible, but for the time being, it’s a problem that’s still a week away.

What Flynn _should_ expect is that there’s no way an event of this scale could go perfectly smoothly no matter what, but he understands that immediately when he walks into the bar and sees Raven, Judith, and Karol huddled over a table together.

“That _is_ rather bad,” Judith says with a noticeable frown, and as far as Flynn can tell, for Judith to show even that much expression means they’ve already reached a problem of catastrophic proportions.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Maybe he shouldn’t assume that this is related to the wedding, but with the date so close now, it seems impossible for it not to be. The Brave Vesperia members look up at him immediately, and Karol replies without missing a beat, brow furrowed and mouth turned down in a grimace.

“It’s the Council. Apparently they’ve bribed every priest and marriage officiant in the city to decline from holding the ceremony.”

“Or if it’s not bribing, it’s outright threatening. I went around today, asked every church and office in every quarter.” Raven sighs and shakes his head. “No one wants anything ta do with the royal wedding.”

There’s a million reasons why Flynn shouldn’t storm back to Noble’s Quarter, pound on the door of every Council member, call them out on their literal months of scheming, and slug them right in the face. There’s a million reasons why he can’t do any of that.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to though, and he bites through his teeth, “There has to be _something_ we can do! Can’t we get another priest? If I rode out to Halure right now—”

“You’d never make it in time, kid, and you _know_ that. A hard ride’s time between Zahpias and Halure is at least two weeks, a week and a half at best.”

Judith offers, “What if I flew out with Ba’ul? We’d only be out for a few days at worst.”

Karol only shakes his head before slumping over the table. “I asked Estelle about it earlier when she told me. Noble and royal weddings can only be held in Zaphias, so only priests in Zaphias can officiate them.”

Which the Council knew, of course, probably took gleeful happiness in once they realized that even without being able to discuss it anymore, they still had a way to stop the wedding. He knows that between him and Yuri, he’s always had a worse temper, but at this point he has no idea how Yuri hasn’t been arrested for assault against a Council member yet. Both he and Estelle put so much into making this whole thing happen, no matter how much Yuri tries to downplay what he did, and Flynn sees red when he considers that all of that might be for not.

“Wait,” Raven cuts in, eyes glued on Flynn. He tries his best to reel his mounting fury back in, to relax and unclench his fists, if only so he can actually listen. “Flynn, when’s the last time the knight conduct rules got an update?”

He blinks, anger settling in the face of confusion. “Not since before I joined, I’m pretty sure.”

“And you’re still Commandant, yeah?”

“For the time being.” At least until he really _does_ storm back to the Noble’s Quarter just to punch Baudin in the face, but as he sees the wheels turning in Raven’s head, hand at his chin as his eyes dart back and forth, Flynn thinks he might not actually have to resort to that.

Mind made up on something, Raven nods and stands up from his seat, smiling back at the rest of them. “Alright, I just need ta check a few things, but I think I got this covered. Just sit tight and leave it up to this old man here.”

“Huh? Where are you going?” Raven’s already halfway to the door by the time Karol’s stood up, and the young guild leader yells out, “Do you need any help with this?!”

Raven calls back easily, waving his hand and still grinning. “Nah, just cover my tab, will ya!”

Karol sits back in his seat, sighing and brow just a bit furrowed. “This better mean he’s not just trying to skip his tab again and knows how to actually fix this…”

Judith smiles serenely as ever, chin propped up in her folded hands. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. He always pays us back anyways.”

“You’re sure he’s going to fix this then?” he asks, eyes still glued to the door. As much as they all trust Raven, he’s still not sure what to think of the man himself, not when he primarily knew him as Schwann. Look at how Schwann turned out to be. “He didn’t even say what he was going to check.”

“Raven _always_ pays us back,” Judith says evenly. “And he owes more to Yuri and Estelle than any of us.” Flynn only has a general idea of what debts Raven might owe to the two of them, and from Karol’s serious nod, he’s sure they’re just as heavy as he expects them to be. “This is too important for him to mess it up, and he knows that. If he says he can fix this, I know he can.”

He can only pray that she’s right.

●

Which is how he ends up here: officiating the marriage between Yuri and Estelle like some kind of stand-in priest.

According to Estelle, and according to Raven to begin with, knight captains have the power to conduct a wedding if circumstances require it. Supposedly, it was only meant to be done under very specific emergency situations, say for example a captain being under orders to guard an engaged noble couple and, under threat of danger, the couple must be married as soon as possible in order to secure the futures of both their houses. No one had needed that kind of last minute wedding in decades, but regardless, thanks to that kind of hypothetical situation, all knight captains have the power to hold a wedding if need be. And as Commandant, the highest of knight captains according to Estelle again (and probably according to Raven again), Flynn is technically stationed in Zaphias even with his duties requiring him to travel elsewhere most of the time. 

It all seems a little too perfect, but it’s not like they have many other options at this point.

Of course he says yes to her. For one, who could actually say no to Estelle? For another, it’s not as if he plans on letting the Council of all things stand between his two dearest friends in the world and happiness. Like hell that’s happening, not if he can do something about it. And privately, it’s an honor to be asked to do this for them, to be trusted with it. There might not have been many other options, and he thinks Yuri would cancel the wedding himself before asking the recently promoted Leblanc to do it, but all the same, he doesn’t take it lightly that they asked him first.

That doesn’t mean he has to like that he’s holding the ceremony. Oh no, with the wedding in a mere three days now, Flynn can already feel the signs of a preemptive headache coming on. When he thinks about the sheer amount of people that will be there, the sheer amount of both nobles _and_ guild members, just how he’ll have to coordinate the security detail to make sure no one starts a fight—

And those were only his worries as Commandant, as another guest attending. Now he has to make sure the ceremony itself goes smoothly.

So he says yes to Estelle, and she smiles and hugs him in glee, and Yuri laughs his heart out but slaps him on the back and tells him it means the world to him too, and that’s that. The two of them leave soon after, a million small details for them (mostly Estelle) to finalize with the day almost here. They leave, and Flynn bolts out of his office to head straight for the nearest bar.

Lo and behold, Raven sits at the counter as easy as can be, and he doesn’t even bother hiding his shit-eating grin when he sees the young Commandant.

“Why don’t _you_ marry them! You’re a captain, too!”

“How many times do I gotta tell ya, Schwann’s dead! He’s dead!” To anyone else who might overhear, Raven’s utter glee in proclaiming a man’s death might be just a bit disturbing, but Flynn can’t even blame him. He’s _jealous_. “Besides, I’m attending as official representative of Altosk, I can’t hold the wedding as a knight captain ta boot!”

“Don’t you belong to Brave Vesperia?”

“It’s complicated, doesn’t matter,” Raven says easily, shoving away the topic with a wave of his hand, and isn’t that just a story waiting to be told? “The point is I couldn’t do this for ‘em even if I wanted to. Although trust me, I don’t.”

“You and every other priest in this city, but I suppose that’s why I’m doing it,” Flynn says with a sigh as he slumps in his seat.

Raven waves over the barkeep for another glass, gesturing for him to place it in front of the knight. Despite the early hour, he can’t really bring himself to say no to alcohol at the moment. Not with knowing he’s soon to put up with even _more_ nonsense from the naysayers.

“Come on, Commandant, y’know it’s not gonna be that bad. I know ya love giving those old farts some shit as much as everyone else, and what better way ta do it than by holding the wedding they’ve done their damndest to stop?” Flynn tries to hide his smirk in his drink, but he knows there’s no sense in denying it. Raven raises his own glass to him. “Besides, there’s no one else I coulda trusted this with.”

He wants to say that it’s not as if Raven really has any other choice but to trust him with this, but. Even if no one’s willing to say it, he’s well aware of the fact that despite being Commandant, Flynn did so pitifully _little_ to help Brave Vesperia in the fight against Duke and the Adephagos. For most of Yuri’s and Estelle’s journey, even. Having the trust of the people who traveled with them for their journey when he stood in their way so frequently—he’s not sure he deserves it, but he’ll do whatever he can to make sure he keeps it.

“You didn’t let us down, so it’s only right that I return the favor. Although I have to admit, I really did have my doubts.”

Raven gasps, placing his hand against his heart. “You _wound_ me Flynn, ta have actually doubted me! But if ya really wanna return the favor, do me a solid and tell the Leblanc Brigade ta stop callin’ me Schwann.”

Flynn laughs and shakes his head.

“I might be Commandant, but even _I_ don’t have the power to do that.”

 ●

As a child, Flynn worked backbreaking physical labor in the Lower Quarter just to make ends meet and survive. When he joined the knights, he sweated under the high afternoon sun for hours upon hours during training. Since then he’s fought through battles on unfamiliar lands, helped build a village from the ground up with nothing but his own hands, even crossed swords with people he trusted and admired more than anyone else.

And none of that compares to the sheer discomfort of standing at the head of the church in all his full regalia.

 It’s heavy, for one, much more so than his standard armor. The engravings and designs are beautiful, but all he can think about is how it must be made with a much denser metal than normal armor for it to hold up fine detail work like this so well. His tunic must be made of the finest silk in the world for how it feels against his skin. Tassels decorated with every award and accolade he’s earned from the knights, many of which he doesn’t even remember being awarded, hang over him attached from his armor. The pommel of his sword, one he’s never seen until today, is even fashioned to resemble a lion’s head.

He has no idea where any of it came from, if it’s because he’s Commandant or because he’s holding the wedding. Every single piece of it is meant for ceremonial purposes rather than practical ones, and the fact that he’s _still_ head of security for this event only makes him more uncomfortable.

The only thing that makes this even slightly more bearable is seeing Yuri stand in equal discomfort in all his finery.

How Estelle managed to get Yuri into formal clothing, he’ll never know, but it looks good on him. Despite the former vigilante’s defiant slouch and barely-controlled fidgeting, he makes it look like that’s how you’re supposed to wear a brocaded black suit in the first place. From a distance, the suit seems like a plain black, but upon closer inspection, swirling designs and patterns run through every inch of it in embroidery. The lapels and pockets are lined with a gold embroidery as well, almost floral looking. With Yuri’s sword belted around his waist and not gripped in his hand for once, it somehow completes the look perfectly.

“Jeez, Yuri,” Karol whispers from the side, in his own formal wear but remarkably more comfortable than either of the two men in front of him. Flynn envies the light-looking, finely-woven tunic the young guild master wears. “How did you even get a suit like that? You didn’t pay for it, did you?”

Yuri tugs at his collar. “Obviously not. The whole thing was Estelle’s idea.”

“And you agreed to it?”

“After the Council was dumb enough to leave her completely in charge of the funds for the wedding when they knew we love to piss ‘em off?” Yuri grins, that trademark on-verge-of-causing-a-scene-for-fun smile, and Flynn’s eyes sweep over the room again to make sure security is posted where they’re supposed to be. Karol only laughs. “Of course I did.”

He shakes his head. “I’m surprised they allocated that much money to this wedding in the first place.”

“Even if they didn’t want this to happen, it’s not like they can say it’s not a royal wedding, right? My guess is they still felt like they had to give this as much pomp and circumstance as possible ‘cause of that,” Yuri explains with an easy shrug.

“They just didn’t realize Lady Estellise would be devoting most of that to your clothes.”

“Let’s just say the reception might be a bit skimpy on ice carved statues and silk-lined tables.”

“So just everything the entire left side of the room cares about.” Literally, as all the nobles and royal family members are seated on the left side of the room, the guild members and regular citizenry of Zaphias being seated on the right. It was the best idea anyone could come up with so the involved parties wouldn’t be at each others’ throats immediately, but despite being seated to face the front of the church where Yuri and Estelle are to wed, both the nobles and the guild members seem much more preoccupied with shooting each other the nastiest looks possible.

“Hey, if you mentioned that you needed decorations, I’m sure the Handcrafts Guild would’ve been happy to help out!” Karol says, gesturing to said guild members sitting on the right side of the room. Indeed, even with the ever-growing tension between the two sides, they only direct their judgmental looks at the decorations. The guild master cringes. “Actually, I think they might even _complain_ that you didn’t hire them…”

Rita rolls her eyes, hands on her hips even with a small bouquet in one. He thinks it’s the first time he’s ever seen her in a dress, much less one with a sweetheart neckline, but he knows she could set fire to the whole church just as easily as when she’s in pants. She certainly looks ready to. “Oh, just hire ‘em when you and Nan get hitched. They can lord over getting to decorate the wedding of Brave Vesperia’s master if all they want is accolades.”

Karol turns red as a tomato, and it’s a good thing they left the ring bearing to Repede instead of the best man. The rings sit daintily on the pillow balanced on Repede’s head, and with how hard Karol’s shaking, he would’ve dropped them right onto floor. Raven gives him a hearty slap on the back before he remembers to breathe.

“I-I-I have no idea what you’re talking about! Jeez, it’s not even like that!”

“Now Karol, there’s no need ta lie. We all know you and the young Hunting Blades miss are ready to go steady—”

“Wait a minute Captain, don’t tell me you haven’t even gotten around to asking her out yet?”

“If you all don’t mind,” Judith cuts in, quiet voice somehow carrying over both them and the crowd. The music starts just then, soft and sweet, and the sheer weight of his role here suddenly hits Flynn like someone dropped a bag of bricks on him. What they’re here for today hits all of them, and they all straighten up appropriately; even Yuri stops his fidgeting. All except for Judith who simply grins wider, gracefully lifting the hem of her gown one-handed to step back to the side. “I believe it’s time for the wedding.”

The doors swing open wide, Adecor and Boccos on either side, and immediately all the guests rise to stand for their emperor. Ioder looks resplendent in his finery, although Flynn can’t help but think the ornate sword at his waist looks somewhat out of place. It fits the image of an emperor perfectly, but it’s hard to imagine his friend even knowing how to swing it himself. Tucked into Ioder’s right arm is Estelle’s lace-gloved hand, and he hears Yuri suck in a breath before he realizes he’s not breathing himself.

The guests might have stood for Ioder, but their awed silence is only for the princess.

She walks in like a living cloud. The skirt of her dress flares out fully yet lightly, as if the lightest breeze would sweep both it and the scattered petals woven within it into the air. The flowers seem to creep and grow into her bodice, but it’s not until she’s closer that he realizes her bodice isn’t made of flowers at all. In lieu of carrying her shield, she wears armor, fashioned so finely and thinly to look more like floral lace than armor, put together in alternating stretches of gold and white. Her mother’s memento sits nestled at her collar as if it always belonged there, holding together a wisp of gold-threaded silk that drapes delicately over her arms and onto her back, the train of it billowing behind her like the wind itself. In her free hand she holds her bouquet, and on her other side lies her sword like a sash.

But none of that compares to her smile. Despite her laced veil hanging over her face, he can see the flush in her cheeks, the sheen in her eyes, the tremble in her lips.

She’s beautiful.

Yuri must think so too, given that he nearly passes out on the spot.

“Hey, come on, Yuri!” Karol whisper-shouts, trying as inconspicuously as possible to keep Yuri propped up. It’s not inconspicuous in the least, especially not with Raven joining in to keep Yuri standing, but thankfully the entire church is still spell-bound by Estelle anyways. “You can’t go passing out on your own wedding day!”

Rita growls under her breath, “You do _not_ wanna know what’s gonna happen if you ruin this wedding after everything that’s happened just because Estelle’s so pretty you had to faint.”

When Yuri manages to catch his breath, he sounds as if he just ran a marathon rather than saw his future wife walking down the aisle towards him. “Alright, jeez, I’m _fine_. Just gimme a sec.”

“You sure about that? We don’t want ya keelin’ over once she’s actually face-to-face with you.

Flynn glances back over to Estelle, and—well, he really can’t say he blames Yuri for nearly fainting at the sight of her, and he thinks everyone would agree if not how pressed they are for making the ceremony a success—he can see the princess trying to hold back a giggle. Ioder has his ever graceful smile as always, but the emperor leans over to whisper in her ear, and Estelle literally has to bite back laughter. No doubt they make quite a scene at the end of the aisle.

Judith laughs lightly, eyes crinkling in the corners. “Oh hush, you. This will make quite the tale to tell for years to come, and you know it.”

But when Estelle reaches the dais, breaking away from Ioder and handing her bouquet off to Rita, she takes Yuri’s hands in hers, and Flynn knows there’s nothing to worry about. Every bit of nerves and restlessness melts away from both of them the moment they link their fingers together, matching smiles of unbridled joy on both of them. They look into each others’ eyes, and they already know they have the whole future ahead of them. Together.

Really, he’s not even sure why he’s here. His role is so purely ceremonial it could make him laugh. They’re already as married as can be as far as he’s concerned, with or without the service.

The rest of it passes by in a blur. He says the words he’s heard only a few scant times before but memorized over and over the past three days just for this moment, but the rest of it is all them. He hears Hanks cheer in the background while Yuri states his vows, sees Karol silently bawling during them, and even Rita wipes at her eyes when Estelle makes hers. A good chunk of the nobles couldn’t care less at the display, as regal and gracefully cold as always, but none of this is for them anyways. This day, this ceremony, this moment are for Yuri and Estelle and all the people who love them, and Flynn wouldn’t have it any other way.

“By the power vested in me by the city-state of Zaphias,” he says, laughing but shaking his head. He feels about as useful as he did when he saw the Adephagos scatter across the sky like shooting stars, knowing that no matter what anyone might say, he did just about nothing to make it all happen. Somehow though, it doesn’t bother him in the least. “I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Raven whoops and Judith cheers them on when Yuri dips Estelle almost outrageously low for their first official kiss as husband and wife, scandalously inappropriate for a royal wedding but perfect for the two of them. Confetti bursts from the ceiling, and with the windows flown open, he can hear the cheering of not just everyone inside the church but also everyone _outside_ of it. He’s sure the only reason the people haven’t stampeded the church in order to celebrate is because of the security he posted outside of it. Given the clanks of armored hands clapping and greave-wearing feet stomping though, the severe yet secure perimeter around the church must be dissolving by the minute. At the moment, Flynn just can’t bring himself to care. After nearly a year of back-and-forth fighting and careful planning, after so many near-disasters just barely avoided, seeing two of his dearest friends in the world finally tying the knot leaves him a bit too happy to care about the reckless energy in the air, the growing celebration just about ready to burst out of the room one way or another.

Naturally, it does burst. It bursts, and just as Flynn expected it from the moment he found out Yuri and Estelle were engaged, things go straight to hell.

Later on, after countless witness reports and testimonies, no one will be able to tell how it started. One of the guild members probably said something crass. One of the nobles probably said something snooty. Someone definitely got offended at something. Whatever the case, the moment Flynn sees the first son of House Novak throw a punch at a member of the Photography Guild, he knows the wedding’s about to crash and burn.

Estelle will tell him that he at least got through the vows and ceremony itself, and that counts for something. It’ll take the sting out of his black eye, at least a little.

Right now though, the punch is thrown, and Flynn doesn’t even have a chance to break up the fight before the two sides of the church come down on each other. Nobles draw their ornately decorated, entirely useless weapons, familiar faces from the Lower Quarter put their fists up, guild members goad on everyone who’s ready for a fight. The knights try their damndest to stop the fights and not be part of them, but they get dragged into the mix before they know it. Somewhere in the distance, he hears Leblanc’s familiar call of “Arrest that man!!” and he’s not even sure who exactly here he’s talking about. Yuri seems like the obvious choice, but Yuri _technically_ didn’t do anything unlawful, even if he just about guaranteed that unlawfulness would happen. The whole debacle is more raucous and riot than any actual threat, and he could almost laugh at the image of all the primly dressed nobles getting into it with the leather-clad guild members. Instead, he draws his entirely too heavy sword from its jeweled scabbard and tosses himself into the fray because inevitable or not, funny or not, he’s still Commandant and it’s still his job to keep the peace.

If he has a little fun despite it all, if the grin on his face matches the one Yuri has as he draws his own blade, well. It’s nothing anyone needs to mention.

Royal weddings probably shouldn’t have brawls as their receptions, but seeing Estelle kick ass in all her finery, Flynn thinks it isn’t a bad reception at all.

●

The dust settles, and Flynn spends most of the actual reception nursing his black eye. At least, him and every other guest still there. Frankly, he can’t believe there’s even still a proper reception to attend, but apparently Estelle had the foresight to arrange ahead of time for the reception to be held much later than the wedding. With enough time for a fight to break out, even.

He should probably be mad that both of them just about _knew_ a fight would happen and ruin the wedding. He should be mad, but he isn’t, and Flynn simply grabs a flute of champagne from a passing server and downs it.

“Honestly, you two should’ve just eloped.”

“Maybe,” Yuri says with a shrug, brocaded suit somehow not torn in the least. He really needs to talk to the tailor Estelle hired for the wedding. “But it was more fun to have it both ways.”

Because a month earlier, Yuri and Estelle _did_ elope. At the height of Halure’s blooming, Flynn watched along with the rest of their friends as the two of them said their vows right beneath the town’s great tree. None of them looked as extravagant as they do now—Yuri in his regular clothes and Estelle in a dress adorned with flowers she picked herself—but Yuri still lost his breath when he saw Estelle walk down the flower-laden path the townspeople set up, Estelle still laughed and smiled through all her happy tears as she saw Yuri waiting for her, and they gave themselves to each other just the way they wanted to.

“Do you, Yuri Lowell,” Estelle asked, her hands clasped around Yuri’s to stop the shaking, “take me to be your wife?”

“I do,” he said in a choked voice, lifting one of his hands to brush a stray strand of hair behind her hair, and tucking in a petal there behind her mother’s memento for good measure. “And do you, Estellise Sidos Heurassein—”

“Yuri—!”

Yuri grinned, eyes shining with unshed tears, and said on a breathless laugh, “ _Estelle_. Do you take me to be your husband?”

“I do.”

“Then I guess that’s that. We’re married now.”

Estelle beamed at him. “We’re married now.”

Yuri smiled back, eyes softer than he’d ever seen on him, and Flynn could only cheer louder with the rest of them when Yuri swooped Estelle up into his arms, laughing and spinning around with her, only stopping so that Estelle could lean down properly to seal the deal with her lips on his.

It was not a lawful wedding in the least, and none of them could’ve cared less.

At the reception, Flynn doesn’t even try to hold back his laugh. “You’re going to give her ideas for _another_ wedding at this rate.”

“Oh, trust me, I’d marry her every day if I could.” It’s a testament to how much Yuri’s grown, how happy he is, that he doesn’t blush or stammer for even a second through that statement. Flynn can’t help but be a bit proud. “In fact, I told her that the Dahngrest weddings I’ve seen have some fun traditions she might like…”

“What’s something someone might like?” Estelle asks, not a hair out of place despite the brawl _and_ the polite socializing she’s been doing. Flynn’s not sure which one is worse.

Yuri wraps his arm around her waist, leaning into her as much as she leans into him. It’s a wonder they managed to fool everyone in Zaphias that they _weren’t_ already married for a whole month. “Nothing, just that Flynn likes it when we make some trouble for him.”

“Yuri, don’t say that!” she admonishes, but she still laughs through her scolding words. When she turns her attention back to him, her sheepish smile looks just as familiar as the mischievous glint in her eyes. “Although I do think we’re going to be causing some more trouble for you in the near future, if I’m being honest.”

Flynn simply grabs another flute of champagne and raises it to them, exhausted but undeniably happy all the same. If he spends the rest of his life taking part in the messes the two of them make, he won’t complain.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

**Author's Note:**

> I LOVE CLOTHES AND FASHION WAY TOO MUCH TBH so here's my references for the wedding attire.  
> \- yuri's suit: https://i.imgur.com/o3N39Vz.jpg (dolce & gabbana summer 2019)  
> \- estelle's "first" dress: https://i.imgur.com/Yj6NUOW.jpg (valentin yudashkin spring/summer 2015), https://i.imgur.com/BiJkRPx.jpg (hayley paige bridal spring 2017), https://i.imgur.com/9TOkQXR.jpg (zuhair murad haute couture spring 2013), https://i.imgur.com/8PbIlUH.jpg, https://i.imgur.com/0HUC2At.jpg, https://i.imgur.com/bdvjDEf.jpg (zuhair murad haute couture spring 2013)  
> \- estelle's halure dress: https://i.imgur.com/4T3mRQp.jpg


End file.
